From Me to You
by PhoenixFire Lia
Summary: It was kinda hard thinking up ways to make this song sound less like an innuendo. Up now: Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes..." Fluffy Sorato!
1. ::track one:: Cry

From Me to You

From Me to You

~A Collection of Songfics~

People write songfics when basically they have nothing else to write and they need that little boost of inspiration the fecking muses can't provide. *glares at Yama*

**_What?! I'm doing my job!_**

Then why do I have writers' block? Eh? Anyway, most of… 

**_Most of?!_**

Okay, pretty much all of these songs are from Mandy Moore's self-titled CD. 

**_Why not mine?_**

You have ONE song, darling. And it's in Japanese, meaning I can't understand it. 

** **

::track one::

A chill wind raced through the streets of Odaiba, and I buried my hands deeper into the pockets of the charcoal sweater-coat that hung to my knees, partially concealing the fuchsia tank top I wore underneath it. I was glad that for once my jeans had stayed fairly dry, since I always seem to get them wet refilling the buckets in the floor displays. It was another long, somewhat boring day working at Mom's florist shop. The only benefit is that I'm paid, so lately I've had quite a bit of yen in the ol' wallet. I've been saving up for a brand-new tennis racket since _forever! _

I thought to cut through the park, since the sky was starting to cloud over, threatening rain, or possibly snow. I hope it won't snow, it's a little too early to be pulling out my mittens. The park was deserted, which came as a shock because there's always somebody out in the park. Okay, so maybe I'm not being completely honest. There was one person there other than myself. Standing there. In the middle of the grass. Doing absolutely nothing. 

He had always been kind of mysterious, the self-appointed 'lone wolf.' Never said more than three sentences to Mimi, but hey, he talked to me. Oh, what the heck, he completely spilled his guts to me on occasion. He trusted me. More than his brother, more than the guys, more than his digimon companion. Me. But I do admit, he's had psychiatric help from the digimon department, but apparently his 'shrink' is getting pricey…Gabumon charges a scoop of ice cream _per hour. _Come on, be reasonable!

Anyway, so here I was, trying to get home before I was pelted with raindrops, and not more than two yards away is the resident 'hottie of Tokyo,' the so-called 'greatest thing since wasabi.' He was just staring off into space, completely zoned out. I wasn't sure if I should say something to him or not. 

I'll admit, I have a crush on him. But who wouldn't? First of all, he's drop dead gorgeous. The soulful sapphire eyes, the sunshiny-gold hair, skin that's never freckled or gotten pimply or anything. The kind of person you dream about dating. All right, it's a lousy reason, but all girls go for the cute guys first…even me. But he's got a personality that's unlike any other guy I know. I mean, Tai's your typical jock…slightly braindead but has a heart of gold and a quick tongue (as in sense of humor, you pervs!). Izzy's grade A computer nerd…and we still hang out with him, even if I have no idea what he's talking about. Joe is that serious, studious type that hardly parties…we're going to have to loosen him up before he goes to college. But Matt? Well, Matt's kind of a troubled soul. He isn't _gothic, _just troubled. His folks divorced when he was seven, he lives with a father who happens to enjoy alcohol a little too much, and his mom is basically out of the picture. If T.K. had never gone to camp with us and become a Digidestined…I don't even want to think about the effects. Shivers. But when he's not the center of attention, or being chased by gazillions of shrieking girlies, or being hassled by Tai, Matt's a pretty sweet guy. Your knight-in-shining armor, perfect gentleman type. And that's the kind of guy I'm turned on by. Oh yes, Matt's given me goosebumps one time too many in the *counts fingers* six maybe seven years I've known him. 

I wanted to say something. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, try and make things better, do whatever means necessary to see those eyes light up with a warm smile. One of those special smiles, the kind that makes me feel pretty, special, important. I've received a couple of those from him before, and it gives me the warm and fuzzies every time. Well, actually, I wanted to give him a hug and tell him everything would be okay, like I used to do for T.K. But Matt's sixteen, and I'm…almost sixteen. We're too old for stuff like that. Sophomores in high school. Besides, he's a _guy. _No guy would want some girl hugging him and comforting him. Real men don't get hugged, or cry, or eat quiche. At least, that's what my dad says. 

I was about to prove Daddy wrong. Matt wasn't just standing there, he was crying. Not hysterically sobbing, not on his knees head in his hands weeping, but tears were falling down his cheeks, crystalline droplets of saline water sliding downward to splash onto his shoes. My whole outlook on things changed. My heart melted into a puddle of Sora-goo. Here was the 'lone wolf,' alone, crying, letting his guard down. And as the Chosen One of Love, I think it's high time I go make things 'all better.' 

"Matt?"

He jumped, just a little, surprised to hear my voice. He ran the sleeve of his sweater across his vision, wiping away the tears that wouldn't stop falling. He turned, flashed me a weak smile as he put on a brave face. He seemed hurt and confused, as if somebody had ripped his heart out and stomped on it right before his eyes. 

"Hey Sora. Kind of late for you to be out, isn't it?"

I smiled at him, feeling my cheeks go red. I wasn't quite sure what to say next, but somehow words were coming out of my mouth and they made sense. 

"I should say the same for you. Something wrong?"

He seemed hesitant to answer. "No."

"That's a bald-faced lie, Matt Ishida, and you know it!" 

Matt went completely pale, his hands shaking violently. 

"Come on, Matt, you can tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't tell anyone."

He still didn't trust me. "You'd tell. You'll go home and email Mimi and in less than five minutes half the world will know."

I was unnerved by his little retort. "You know me better than that! I can keep a secret, Matt. I swear, if I should tell your secret to any other soul, may the gods of the Digiworld strip me of my title as Chosen of Love and break my digivice to a million pieces."

He stared at me blankly for a moment, a lone tear snaking its way down from his eyes. 

"All right," he whispered. "You win."

We walked over to a bench and sat, the clouds overhead growling with voices threatening thunder. Matt could hardly look at me, and that hurt me most of all. 

"So what's the problem? Get into a fight with Dad?" I asked, trying the obvious. He shook his head, golden locks spilling down onto his tearstained face and obscuring it. 

"Come on, Matt. I have ways of making you talk," I teased. 

He sighed heavily, the faint trace of a sob catching in his throat. 

"I just made a complete idiot out of myself, and I don't think I can ever forgive myself for it." 

I almost laughed. "That's _it? _Matt, everybody goofs up. You're not perfect."

"You don't understand! I knew you wouldn't!" he snapped. 

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to take it so lightly. Start from the beginning and tell the tale all the way through, okay?"

He caught a couple tears on his fingertips, wiping his wet fingers on his jeans. 

"I'm in love with this girl and she has no idea. She's perfect. She's smart, and pretty, and makes me feel free. Like I don't have to be strong or tough or anything other than myself. And if I say nothing, she can read my silence and understand. Like I said, she's perfect, but totally not clued-in. I wrote all of those songs for her, and she still doesn't get it. So I called her house to just plain tell her, but she wasn't home. I left my heart and soul on her _answering machine!_" Matt groaned, pounding the bench with his fist. 

I took his hand now, holding it in mine, running my fingers along the cool skin. 

"I think that's the sweetest thing in the world. But I'm missing the point, I think. Why is that totally freaking you out?"

"Because…"

I suddenly found myself saying the same line my mother used on me when I was a little girl, and boy, was that scary. 

"Because isn't an acceptable answer!"

"Sora, what if she laughs? What if she's absolutely repulsed by me? What if I just took ten minutes to tell this girl I've been crushing on her for the six or seven years I've known her and she hates me? I've never been more humiliated…and she hasn't even said anything yet! I…I don't know what to do, and frankly, I'm scared."

I didn't say anything for a few minutes, pondering at who he could be talking about. There weren't too many people Matt had known for that long. Mimi…but like I said earlier, Matt's said not much more than three sentences to her in all his life. The only other girl I could think of that's known Matt since she was a little kid was…was…oh dear, sweet Yokomon. Me. 

"Matt, it would help if I knew who this girl is. I'm not going to laugh, I swear it."

He shoved strands of blonde hair away from his bloodshot eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Well, um…I…that is, I mean…oh man."

Both my hands enveloped his, and I held them in a strong grip. Deep ruby eyes locked dead on to darkened sapphire, refusing to back down until I was satisfied with his answer. 

"Tell me," I said firmly. That scared little boy look returned, clutching his heart with icy fear. 

"Tell me," I repeated, tightening my grip on his cold hands. It was as though I was pulling teeth, trying to pry his secret out with a rusty crowbar. And in the end of our staring contest, I was the victor. He mumbled something inaudible. 

"What was that? I didn't hear it," I said. 

"You, Sora. The message was, and is, for you," he whispered. 

I was dumbfounded. Honest to goodness open-mouthed shock. I think I scared him. 

He chuckled, a little light coming back into his eyes. I must've looked like a big mackerel with red hair. 

"Me?! I…I honestly don't know what to say to you, Matt. Of the _billions _of girls that worship the ground you walk on, you're hopelessly in love with _me?_"

Matt nodded, turning a deep shade of pink. 

"You promised you wouldn't make fun of me," he reminded me. 

I pouted. "Who's making fun? Matt, you are by far the most wonderful, caring, sensitive, loving guy I have ever met, and I couldn't think of anything better than to be your girlfriend. I love you, and there is no power in heaven or on earth that can change my mind."

And with that, I wrapped him in my best hug, brushed a couple locks of bright golden hair away from his face, and kissed him. 

The lost little boy inside hit puberty fast. Matt's one heck of a kisser, let me tell you that! 

(But _I _left _him _breathless.)

After breaking the kiss, which took a lot of self-control because neither of us wanted to give the other up, I got up and started walking off. 

"Wait!" Matt shouted, chasing after me. "Where are you going?"

I turned and grinned at him. "I've got to get home."

He gave me a quizzical, cute, all right…downright sexy look. 

"I've got to check my answering machine."

I told you, Matt's the perfect guy. And he's mine, all mine! 

~*~

_:I'll always remember:_

_:It was late afternoon:_

_:It lasted forever:_

_:And ended so soon:_

_:You were all by yourself:_

_:Staring up at a dark gray sky:_

_:I was changed:_

_ _

_:In places no one will find:_

_:All your feelings so deep inside:_

_:It was then that I realized:_

_:Forever was in your eyes:_

_:The moment I saw you cry:_

_ _

_:It was late in September:_

_:And I'd seen you before:_

_:You were always the cold one:_

_:But I was never that sure:_

_:You were all by yourself:_

_:Staring up at a dark gray sky:_

_:I was changed:_

_ _

_:In places no one will find:_

_:All your feelings so deep inside:_

_:It was then that I realized:_

_:That forever was in your eyes:_

_:The moment I saw you cry:_

_ _

_:I wanted to hold you:_

_:I wanted to make it go away:_

_:I wanted to know you:_

_:I wanted to make your everything, all right…:_

_ _

_:I'll always remember:_

_:It was late afternoon:_

_ _

_:In places no one will find:_

_:All your feelings so deep inside:_

_:It was then that I realized:_

_:That forever was in your eyes:_

_:The moment I saw you cry:_

_:The moment I saw you cry:_

~*~

Well? *crickets* Ooh-kay. If you're at Fanfiction.net…review! Review, dagnabbit! 

**_And why would they be anywhere else, Lia?_**

Because they're on a Sorato site! And in that case…um…sign the guestbook! 

**_Why? You don't even sign the guestbooks!_**

I don't have time to sign the guestbooks! I'm too busy writing more fics! 

**_Stay nearby. Maybe someday Lia will write another song so this can be a collection._**

You hurt me, Yamato. You hurt me deep.

** **

__


	2. ::track two:: Crush

From Me to You

From Me to You

~A Collection of Songfics~

**Another day, another song. **

**_Still Mandy Moore?_**

**Yup.**

**_Still from Sora?_**

Yeah. I don't give her enough credit. She may not have much personality, but she's sweeter than Quatre covered in butterscotch.

** **

::track two::

The shrill sound of the school bell echoed through the hallways of Odaiba High as I dashed off from Chemistry to Literature. My bag was thankfully lighter today than it was yesterday, when I had a majority of classes containing. But then again, I had a study hall seventh period since phys. ed was second semester for me. Literature was somewhat of a combination Japanese class and writing class. Whatever. It was one of my favorite classes for a few reasons. One being that I happen to enjoy reading and writing a lot, primarily of the fantasy nature. Funny how a tomboy like me can like reading about knights on white horses slaying dragons and rescuing the helpless princess, isn't it? The other reason was because Matt's in Lit class with me. Yes, the same Matt I've been totally in love with since I was eight. 

I saw him in the hallway, laughing with Tai and his posse of jocks. Matt was the most popular guy in school, so he had no problem fitting in with any clique in the school. The cheerleaders adored him, the jocks respected him, even the…um…less social types were obsessed with him. My New Year's resolution last winter was to tell him how I felt by sophomore year, but since we've just started that I may have to modify my resolution. I've dreamed of being his date to the sophomore social, and that's in April. I've seen myself on his arm at junior and senior proms. I've accidentally started signing things as Sora Ishida. Sick, huh? But the worst part is, I think it's a one-sided love. He'll call and ask for a homework assignment, having forgotten to write it down because he was too busy exchanging notes with the cheerleaders, and I'll be mumbling unintelligible junk. 

Anyway, so we were all assembled in Ms. Okinawa's room, waiting for her to come in and bark at us like a Nazi soldier. I was sitting at my desk, reading, ignoring the wads of paper and who-knows-what that were hurtling at my head. Had I my tennis racket, the thrower would've known what it was like to be on the receiving end. Matt was sitting on top of his desk at the front of the room, telling something to the girls that made them giggle. 

"Just a sec, ladies. I'll be right back," I heard him say. There was a soft thud, the scrape of a desk across the floor, and suddenly I felt like I was being watched. I glanced up, and he was sitting at the desk in front of mine, backwards, so he was facing me and staring _right at me _with those big baby blues of his. 

"Hey there. Reading anything good?" he asked, trying to yank the book out of my hands. 

I smirked at him, trying not to get tongue-tied. "Nothing you'd be interested in."

Matt let out a little sigh, batting the book out of my hands. It clattered to the floor, the bookmark fluttering to the ground three feet away. I was about to say something in protest about my book but the look on his face stopped me. He rolled up the sleeve of his blazer, the same hideous jade green that everyone in school wore, followed by his white shirt. His fair skin was mottled with purplish-blackish bruises in five spots, side-by-side. 

"What happened?" I murmured, fingering the marks with the delicacy of a butterfly. 

"Fangirls jumped me outside of my building. I got pretty banged up, but at least they weren't groping me…too much."

"I'm sorry."

He smiled, tugging his sleeves back into place. "I'm used to it by now. Oh, here comes the ogress. Gotta be a good boy now, sit, pay attention, look enthused."

He darted back up to his chair and the others sat as well as Ms. Okinawa strode in with a large stack of white lined paper. She dropped it on the front table with a loud thud, waiting for the class to come to attention. I was leaning over the bar attaching chair to desk, retrieving my book and bookmark. 

_Thank goodness it fell writing-side down, _I thought, sliding it back into my page. 

It was a piece of origami paper that I had scribbled on in a moment of insanity, or boredom, or both. 

_Sora Ishida. Sora loves Matt. _Over and over again, that sort of stuff written all over the thing. Little hearts and flowers and junk. 

"All right, class, we're going to do a free-write for the next ten or fifteen minutes, so get out a pen!" called Ms. Okinawa, a vision of loveliness who vaguely resembled my own mother, as she passed out paper. Traditionally Oriental looking, with big almond eyes and glossy black hair that she always kept pulled up. 

~*~

The silence in the room was deadening, although it was filled with the furious scribble of pens on paper. I had no idea what I was writing. Words were just coming, and coming, and coming. I glanced up at one moment to check the clock and to rest my weary hand, and found myself watching the other kids. A few were chewing on the ends of their pens, some were tapping them on the desktops, and there were a couple writing frantically. Matt was heading back to his desk with a fresh piece of paper, probably to add onto his already perfect prose. I thought I caught him smiling at me, but I dismissed it as him smiling at the pretty brunette girl sitting behind me. 

***cough, cough***

I went back to my writing, my neat little characters tugging at me to continue with whatever it was I was writing. I can honestly say I don't know what I was saying. I was spaced out, probably having dirty fantasies about myself and a certain blonde sitting five desks away. 

"Okay, finish your sentence and then pens down, please."

I started to read over what I wrote, but Ms. Okinawa started speaking again. 

"We don't normally share our free-writes, but since you all seemed to be rather hard at work with them today, I thought maybe we could. Sora, why don't you be our first victim?"

Victim. That sounded so awful. I felt like a victim. I knew whatever I had written would be up for silent criticism by my popular peerage. I cleared my throat and rose from my desk, hands shaking as I held my papers. 

"I once went on a journey, one that took years from my life and still continues on, towards the future. It was, and is, a journey of self. I wanted to find my heart, my place in the sun. Through my travels I met others such as myself, who wanted to know where they belonged. But the one who touched my heart in a way that I could never begin to describe is a lone wolf. He stayed in the shadows, watching me, protecting me from all harm. He spoke of friendship, and how important a loving heart is. He kept his emotions guarded, hidden by a barrier of hurt and mistrust. I listened, becoming a trustworthy friend who could keep his secrets. During one late night, while he was watching over our camp, I sought him out. He told me everything, his innermost fears and greatest desires, which, to this day I will never tell. And as I sat and listened, learning to understand the language of silence and the magic of comfort, I found that I was falling in love. He had inner turmoil, but my heart called to him, and I was mindset that I could take the hurt away. But our destinies took us in different directions, and I wait for the day when they cross again."

The class was dumbstruck, and so was Ms. Okinawa. I was pretty shocked myself. I hadn't realized until that moment that my entire free-write declared my love for Matt. I wasn't sure if he realized it or not, for he had turned back to face the front of the room and shuffle through his own papers. 

"Excellent, Sora. A wonderful piece of fantasy writing. Now, who's next?" 

Those almond-shaped eyes scanned the room for another hapless victim, resting on no one student in particular. I was out of the woods having to share my piece, but I still had no idea what Matt thought. That is, until I heard the teacher's choice for her next "victim."

"Matt, are you volunteering or are you going to ask me some inane question?"

"Volunteering, ma'am," was the reply. Catcalls and whistles erupted from around the room as my handsome crush rose from his chair. 

He turned, facing our group of twenty-something, and I watched intently as he turned a pale shade of rose. I guess he got the gist of my free-write. 

"I live a life full of darkness and light. I am the product of love and hatred, brought to life with joy, raised in a world where my mother cried and my father yelled and I could only stand back and hold onto my little brother, trying to pick up the pieces. When I was seven my world shattered, my mother and brother walked out of my life. Tears wouldn't bring them back, and so I forgot how to cry, how to love, how to care. My life spiraled into depression, music my only escape. But you ask me, with your eyes, how I can write music with such hopeful lyrics. I have friendship, I am loved. Yes, I'm aware that everyone loves me, but that love is superficial, soap-bubble love that is easily burst with the advent of another teen idol. There is someone out there, somewhere, who makes me forget about the demons that chase me. She listens, she understands, she knows. She feels my pain and reads my silence clearly. Her touch is gentle, her smile loving. She fills her life with warmth, ready to mend broken wings. I haven't always been kind to her, but that was in a time when my heart was still raw and bleeding…that, and I still thought girls had cooties. But I trusted her, enough to tell her things I wouldn't even tell my brother, my flesh and blood. And if she happens to hear this, to see me as I am and not as I appear to be, then may I be accepted and know the loveshe gives."

Ms. Okinawa was crying, the cheerleaders had melted into puddles of mush, the jocks were…well, being jocks, the drama society was thinking up ways to wrangle him into the fall production, the anime club was comparing his prose to the words of some animated bishounen, and I was awestruck. Was he talking about me? Was he staring at me? Was he blushing? And why do I keep asking questions like this? I'm starting to sound about as inquisitive as Cody. 

"All right, class," Ms. Okinawa sniffled. "That's enough for today. No homework tonight, and you can spend the rest of class doing whatever you wish."

"But we have almost an hour left!" somebody pointed out. 

The petite instructor made a gesture as if she knew, understood, and didn't care. 

~*~

Matt was standing outside the classroom door after the bell rang, leaning against the frame. I hurried along, off to sit in study hall and read, or write a few more "Sora Ishida's" on my bookmark. Most of the time I'd just sit and daydream about being held by a pair of strong arms, whispered soft words to, kissed gently, lovingly stared at by a pair of sapphire eyes so full of light and yet shrouded with darkness. 

"That was an interesting little piece of writing you read there, Sora," he said, starting to follow me. I pretended not to notice, feeling my face heat up with a blush. I wasn't sure if he was criticizing me or complimenting me. 

"Sora? Are you mad at me or something?" he asked, waving a hand in front of my face. 

"Why would I be?" I asked, turning a corner. 

Matt ran his hands through his hair, brushing a loose hair off his fingers. 

"Well, because of what I wrote."

I frowned, poking his shoulder. "It's your life, you can tell it if you want."

"No, I wasn't talking about that part."

He pulled me aside, bumping into a few people who seemed glad to be shoved by my blonde companion. He was leaning against the lockers now, releasing my hand. I wished he hadn't let go. 

"Matt, I'm going to be late…"

He pulled his paper out from his bag; Ms. Okinawa had been too distraught to collect them. Something was scribbled in the margins, something I couldn't exactly see.

"Color me cynical, but I believe you have a crush on somebody that you and I know very well," he teased, taking my book again. 

"Matt, stop acting like Tai and let me go to class," I sighed. He yanked my bookmark out and read everything I had doodled on it. I felt the color drain from my face, then felt a scorching hot blush set in. 

"Well, what do you know? We have the same tastes," he grinned, handing me his paper, and I read everything that he _hadn't _shared with the class. 

_Sora Ishida. Matt loves Sora. _It was all there, everything I had written was mirrored on his paper. 

He was blushing just as heavily as I was, if not more. 

"So…you're saying…"

"I've had a crush on you since I was eight. Five minutes away from you kills me. I want you to be my girlfriend, and I'm not going to accept no," he said seriously, his hands going around my waist. 

"Yes, Matt. A thousand times yes. Now, we're both going to get in a lot of trouble, so I'm going to class now and I will see you at lunch. Is that all right?"

He stole a quick glance around the halls to make sure he was in the clear, and softly kissed me. I melted into liquid gold. His lips grazed against mine, gently at first but soon more quickly, and in my wildest fantasies I could never have imagined such pure bliss. 

"I'll see you at lunch," he murmured. 

I nodded, suddenly losing the ability to speak. He handed back my bookmark and disappeared down the hall. Somewhere between giving me his paper and kissing me he had written something down in his beautiful script. 

_Takenouchi Sora, Yamato no tenshi. _Sora Takenouchi, Yamato's angel. 

I would be late for class, but I could care less. I was an angel to somebody who loved me. 

~*~

_::You know everything that I'm afraid of::_

_::You do everything I wish I did::_

_::Everybody wants you::_

_::Everybody loves you::_

_::I know I should tell you how I feel::_

_::I wish everyone would disappear::_

_::Every time you call me, I'm too scared to be me::_

_::And I'm too shy to say::_

_ _

_::I've got a crush on you::_

_::I hope you feel the way that I do::_

_::I get a rush when I'm with you::_

_::Ooh, I've got a crush on you::_

_ _

_::You know I'm the one that you can talk to::_

_::Sometimes you tell me things that I don't want to know::_

_::I just want to hold you::_

_::And you say exactly how you feel about her::_

_::And I wonder, could you ever think of me that way::_

_ _

_::I've got a crush on you::_

_::I hope you feel the way that I do::_

_::I get a rush when I'm with you::_

_::Ooh, I've got a crush on you::_

_ _

_::Ooh, I wish I could tell somebody::_

_::But there's no one to talk to::_

_::Nobody knows I've got a crush on you::_

_::A crush on you, I've got a crush::_

_::You say everything that no one says::_

_::But I feel everything that you're afraid to feel::_

_::I will always want you::_

_::I will always love you::_

_ _

_::I've got a crush on you::_

_::I hope you feel the way that I do::_

_::I get a rush when I'm with you::_

_::Ooh, I've got a crush on you::_

_::A crush on you::_

~*~

**I don't think that song had anything to do with that story.**

**_Oh well. It's true, though._**

**Which part?**

**_That everybody wants me and everybody loves me._**

**Ugh…*throws pillow at Yama's head* baka!**

**_Hey! Watch it!_**

**Please review! Please please please please please please? **


	3. ::track three:: Songless

From Me to You

From Me to You

~A collection of Sorato shorts…not just songfics anymore~

**_What do you mean this isn't just songfics now?_**

**I couldn't think of a fitting song for this story.**

**_Aha. Who's POV is it in this time?_**

**Mine…as in omnipotent author mode. **

** **

The crisp, cool air of September danced in the city, tantalizing and clean. Already the trees planted along the sidewalks and in the parks were dressing in their fiery autumnal garbs and frost coated the ground and windshields. Students walking to school in the morning grinned in delight as their breath hung in icy sheets in the pale air. Tugging her navy socks further up her legs so as to protect the tender skin of her thighs and shins from the pinpricks of cold, Takenouchi Sora scurried home, invoking comforting visions of a hot cup of tea and her favorite worn blue slippers. 

She paused in front of an open-air stall peddling the fruits of the season, grown in the lush fields far from Odaiba. A shiny pyramid of apples looked rather enticing, their perfectly round sides silky smooth and blushing red. Giving in to her temptations, Sora tossed the vendor a few pieces of yen and selected the most perfect apple from the lot, not a single bruise marring its flesh. She decided to take her luscious little friend to the park and contemplate the day as she sat under the brightly hued trees and watched the leaves drop like falling stars. 

~*~

Sora mulled over the day's events as she perused her English book, cradling it in her lap. Taichi had squirreled her favorite sweatshirt somewhere into his locker, complaining because she 'always wore it.' Koushiro had been put in charge of the middle school computer club while Fujiyama-sensei was away with his family for a long weekend. Yamato had learned to play the piano in half an hour, and was now in the process of composing something for the school choir to perform in the spring concert. 

"Great music takes time. I should be done with this by graduation," he had teased, jotting down another brace of sixteenth notes like ants marching along the staff. 

Yamato. The very name elicited pleasurable shivers that pranced down her spine like his fingers flying across the keyboard in the school auditorium. He was an earthbound angel that flitted about the dark halls of Odaiba High on a pair of fragile wings, moving where the wind carried him and acting rather cavalier about life in general. Terrifyingly handsome, he had clearly made the point that he belonged to no woman, that anyone who dared try and tame the lone wolf would taste his tempestuous fury. 

"Ah, but I hold the fire that will melt the iceberg that's settled itself around his heart," Sora murmured to herself, turning the apple over in her hands. She was the only girl he let come within a mile of him; in fact, they were quite close indeed. 

"You going to eat that apple or are you going to keep playing with it?" came a wry voice from above her. Sora turned her vision upwards, searching through the thinning foliage until she spotted her quarry stretched out on a broad branch several feet above her head.

"Have you been spying on me?" she asked peevishly, with half a mind to toss her thick textbook at the interloper. It was probably a good thing she hadn't. He leapt from his brightly hued bower, landing nimbly on the ground beside her. His hair flopped around his fair face, bright strands of spun gold. His eyes, deep sapphire like the midnight skies and bright as the incandescent heart of a flame, lit as he grinned rakishly at her. 

"And how long have you been there, Yamato?" she teased, blushing a pale crimson. 

"Long enough to see you ignoring your studies."

Sora laughed as they sat down together below the canopy of fluttering leaves. 

"If you had to read this nonsense, you'd see why."

Yamato skimmed the article quickly, a perplexed expression shooting across his features. 

"I understand what it says, but not what it means."

"Exactly."

He brushed the book aside, closing it with a careless fashion. "Let's just forget that one."

Sora pulled a plastic knife from her bag. "You want half?"

Yamato replied by snatching both the knife and the fruit from her hands. Sora's ruby eyes narrowed in surprise and a touch of smoldering anger. 

"What was that for? I can cut the thing myself, you know!" 

He smiled at her, pale pink staining his cheeks. "I'm going to show you a little magic trick, unless you object."

"So now the great Ishida Yamato does magic. What can't you do?"

He said nothing, his concentration focused on the task of cutting the apple crosswise, rather than the lengthwise motion Sora had intended. He held both sections together, as if the apple were still whole. 

"Yamato, if you're trying to make the apple whole again, it won't work."

"Hey, don't question the magician! I'm not done yet!" he protested. "Top or bottom?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want the top half of the apple or the bottom half?"

"…The top."

Yamato turned the half over in his hands, holding the cut side out to her. In the center of the white flesh was a tiny star formed by the apple seeds, a perfect little star that glistened with tart apple juice. 

"Abracadabra," he murmured, his cold fingers gently caressing hers as she took the section from his hands. 

There was an awkward silence as they stared at each other, the look in his eyes speaking volumes. Her heart called to his, her very soul ached with the longing and the wanting she felt for him, and he felt the same turmoil. 

"How did you know…about the star…?" Sora mumbled, butterflies taking wing in her gut as her hand involuntarily moved for his. 

"An article of my mother's. Apparently apples are a sign of love and when you cut an apple crosswise, you're supposed to share half of it with your true love," Yamato replied softly, his own hand taking hers as he drew closer to her. 

"True…love…?" Her body was moving unconsciously, acting on its own as she drew her free hand upwards, twining it around his neck, tangling delicate fingers in his bright blonde hair. 

"True…love…" he echoed, losing control over his own motions, bringing his hand to her cheek, bringing his face close to hers. His warm breath made her skin tingle and she shuddered with desire. 

His lips grazed against hers softly, and their emotions exploded in a rush of unbridled carnal need. Their lips met again, clinging, tasting, satisfying their long pent-up want for each other. So many days and nights had passed; both suffering in silence because they believed neither was good enough for the other. The amount of diary and journal entries that were the cadences and flowery sonnets devoted to one another totaled in size greater than a modern dictionary, _War and Peace, _and the phone book for all of Japan together. 

**Yes, this _is _a G-rated fanfic. **

**_Could've fooled me! _**

His hand left hers, his fingers running up and down her spine rhythmically, drawing her warm body even closer. Their kisses became deeper, far more passionate than anything either could have conceived, so deep was their love. It had been charted in the stars and prophesized by some oracle that they were destined for each other, and one knows it is unwise to alter fate. Sora fell back onto her pile of books, her arms fully wrapped around Yamato. She smiled with her eyes, trying to catch a breath here and there. There was a twittering giggle from somewhere above them, but she paid little heed to it, letting her love for Yamato numb her common sense. 

"Ai…shi…Yama…" she mumbled brokenly around his kisses.

"A…teru…So…" he replied just as brokenly, pure ecstasy bright in his eyes. 

In the boughs overhead, Piyomon and Gabumon watched with amusement. 

"It took them long enough to get together," the fuchsia bird sighed. 

"It was worth it though, ne Piyomon?" Gabumon pointed out. 

She nodded. "Humans are so cute when they're in love."

"That's one less prophecy Gennai can pester us about. Do you think they're going to eat that apple?" 

~*~

**_Lia…that was the most limey G-rated story I have ever seen. _**

**All you did was kiss. **

**I have no arguments with that!**

**_*blush* So-ra!_**

**I know I haven't written anything new in a while. **

**_Be patient!_ **

**At the moment, I'm working on a lengthy Beauty and the Beast style Sorato. I just want to write the whole thing first and _then _chapter it…so I don't lose interest in writing it halfway through. **

**_So keep your goggles on! _**


	4. ::track four:: Heart Full of Love

From Me to You

~A Collection of Sorato Shorts~

All right, Matt, it's your turn. 

**_Is the music decent? Because I will not be confessing my love for Sora to *NSYNC. _**

No, Angsty One, I have hand-selected your piece from the Les Miserables soundtrack.

**_What? 'Master of the House?'_**

Stop being insufferable and get in there. 

            I'm never nervous onstage. Never. I'm a professional musician, in front of millions of fans on a regular basis, so there really is no reason for me to be nervous at all. So can someone explain to me why my knees are shaking and why it feels like I've just swallowed a desert? 

"Yamato? Five minutes until you're on," Miyako stated coolly, entering the backstage waiting room where the group of us were standing. 

"Thanks, Miyako," I replied hoarsely, taking a swig from my bottle of water. 

Akira, Takashi and Yutaka, the rest of the Teen-Age Wolves, had gathered around me. 

"Man, you're a wreck!"

"Kami-sama, I've never seen you this freaked out before, Ishida!"

Akira put a brotherly arm around me. "Guys, leave the boss alone. He's got every right to be a mess, this is a big show and the entire school's watching, ya know?"

Takashi gave me a hard nudge. "Not to mention that girl you've been eyeing for months is watching your every move."

            I swallowed hard. Takashi had a point, for once. She was standing in the wings, waiting, watching. She had been there since the beginning; she would always be there. I don't know when I first decided I loved her, but ever since that moment of epiphany, I have wanted nothing else in life than to be with her. She's like no other girl I've ever met, she's special, she's different. She listens to me, really listens to me. Taichi hears me, I know that, but she _listens_ when I tell her I'm having a meltdown and I need a shoulder. She doesn't get freaked when I'm in one of my 'demon-possessed' moods, she doesn't try to hedge me into conversations when I don't want to talk, and she certainly doesn't chase me six blocks screaming "I want to be the mother of your child." Definitely refreshing. She doesn't try to make herself beautiful, she just naturally is, and I love the way she smiles. But the most important part of this one-sided love connection is that she sees me as I am, not a rock star, not the object of every lusty teenage girl's wildest fantasies, just me, just Yamato. 

            I decided to head out into the hallway and wait, backstage was getting too hot anyways, when Miyako appeared again, ushering me to the wings. Apparently it was time for my performance. A flock of butterflies, really big butterflies, were in a mosh pit in my stomach. The others were there; ready to head onstage for our cue. I probably wouldn't be as nervous if I had my bass in my hands, but this time, it's all me. Well, maybe not all me, but it's enough of me. The other Wolves clapped me over the shoulders and we headed onstage, marching on proudly. No, we're not doing a concert, not really. The Teen-Age Wolves and I were wrangled into a spring production of _Les Miserables _at Odaiba High, and I'm playing Marius. Fortunately, this is only a medley production, not the full show, so there isn't as much for me to do as Marius. But there is the one little matter of the big love duet with Cosette! 

            I don't know how I got through the first couple of songs; everything was going by in a blur of high-powered stage lights. Out in the audience, I'm pretty sure Taichi was laughing at me. It's the knee socks and the breeches, isn't it, Taichi? You can laugh, Yagami, but rest assured I will get you back. Oh, I will. My mind started to wander as I sang with the chorus, going through the motions but not really paying attention since the score is grafted to my heart. I started to wonder what Sora's thinking at this moment. She is, after all, the stage manager of this production. Halfway into _Do You Hear the People Sing _and I started to wonder where Cosette is. Ayami, the girl playing the leading lady, is nowhere to be found. I'm hoping she's hiding in the back with Madam Thenardier, since our number just happens to be next.

            The lights dimmed, and all focus was on me. Still no Cosette. The audience was chuckling, and I began to wonder if I could salvage this sinking ship by bursting into a round of _Tobira. _All of a sudden she appeared, Cosette, but not the Cosette I'd been practicing with for the last month and a half. 

"Sora! What are you doing?" I hissed, not caring if the microphone picked me up or not. 

She shrugged slightly. "Ayami's sick, really, really sick. I'm the only other one who knows the song."

Jenna, the sophomore playing Eponine, was positioned at the corner microphone, glowering at us jealously. As Eponine, I hope. 

            I think my heart's stopped. Sora, the girl I've loved since Kami-knows-when is playing Cosette, the love of Marius's life, the love of mine. She had this look in her eyes as she sang, and might I point out that Sora has a surprisingly excellent voice that she has hidden from all of us for the good part of four years. Anyway, she looked as though she was really into the song, or really into me, maybe. It was one of those Hallmark moments, when the whole world stops for just the two of us. She was blushing, I'm sure I was blushing, but do you think I'm really caring at this point?

            A few songs later and it was over. The audience was on their feet, cheering wildly for us. We took our bows and ran offstage, shrieking excitedly that we had done it, and done it well. Everyone was especially congratulating Sora for being our stand-in Cosette and a first-rate one at that. She pulled me aside later, taking me down to the hallway by the school store. 

"You did a great job, Yamato, it was really something."

"Hey, I can't take all the credit, Cosette."

She smiled gently, one of those special, beautiful smiles. "Did you really mean what you were singing or did you just look like you did?"

"I meant every note of it, Sora. I love you with all my heart."

And with that, I leaned over and kissed her gently, and she put her arms around me and time had stopped for a few precious moments. 

"I love you too, Yamato. Always have."

            "Hey Ishida, stop making out with Cosette and get your scrawny behind over here so I can congratulate you on finally hooking up with Sora! Kami-sama, I didn't think you two would _ever _get together!" Taichi hollered, standing at the end of the hall. 

Sora shook her head. "Taichi…"

"I'm going to kill you, Yagami!"

"You've got to catch me first, Ishida!"

I really had no intentions of chasing after Taichi tonight; I'd pound him into oblivion tomorrow. Tonight was Sora, and only Sora. 

~*~

A heart full of love 

_A heart full of song_

_I'm doing everything all wrong_

_Oh God, for shame,_

_I do not even know your name_

_Dear Mademoiselle_

_Won't you say?_

_Will you tell?_

_:A heart full of love_

_No fear, no regret.: _

_My name is Marius Pontmercy._

_:And mine's Cosette.:_

_Cosette, I don't know what to say._

_:Then make no sound.:_

_I am lost._

_:I am found!:_

_A heart full of light._

_:A night bright as day.:_

_And you must never go away, Cosette, Cosette!_

_:This is a chain we'll never break!:_

_Do I dream?_

_:I'm awake!:_

_A heart full of love._

_:A heart full of you.:_

_A single look and then I knew._

_:I knew it too.:_

_From today. _

_:Every day.:_

_For it isn't a dream_

_Not a dream_

_After all. _

~*~

I left out the part Eponine sings, it was just getting to be a long song. 

**_Les Miserables, a good musical, a good song for a fanfic. _**

Now review, dear reviewers, for I love you all so much. 

**_Yes, yes we do. _**


	5. ::track five:: Underneath Your Clothes

From Me to You

~A Collection of Sorato Shorts~

**I'm seeing far too much Mimato for my liking lately. **

**_And me with Yolei, what is that?! Some heinous form of torture?_**

**So, because of this, I decided to quickly pull together one of these. **

**_Do you even have a song?_**

**Um…sort of. The bits and pieces I know of Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes."**

**_Ah. And this is still G-rated?_**

**Shut up and stop being insufferable. **

_::track five::_

            It was laundry day again at Kyoto University. Those students who didn't wait to bring their clothes home to their parents piled up their baskets and marched in swarms down to the coin-operated machines on campus. It was one parade nobody wanted to be a part of, the stench alone was foul. The reek of unwashed clothing permeated the halls and across the lawns, to one very small room crammed with washers, dryers, and ironing boards. Sora hated doing laundry, she absolutely hated it. She hated the smell of fabric softener, she hated getting powdered detergent under her nails, and she never seemed to get all the wrinkles out of her clothes. However, it was not only her own laundry she had to do, but that of her roommate. They had the good sense to own a portable ironing board and an iron of their own, so Sora merely had to shell out a mint's worth of quarters to wash and dry her clothes. 

            The basket weighed a ton, the blue-gray plastic buckling as she pressed it firmly to her side. It was one of those monstrously huge laundry hampers, which may have easily been able to fit several digimon or Cody before he hit puberty. Now it was stacked high with dirty laundry from the past week. And it was the mutual agreement between Sora and her roommate that if she did the laundry, he would cook. Yes, he. Kyoto University has co-ed dorms, and Sora was fortunate enough to be placed in one such apartment. And even luckier than that, she was rooming with her childhood friend and longtime sweetheart. 

            "Hey Sora, I'm out of softener. Can I have a loan?" 

The redheaded girl tossed the plastic bottle across the room to the person questioning her. 

"Take all you need, we buy the stuff in bulk," she said, jamming another quarter in the coin deposit. She could feel the washing machine rattling against her hips, humming and buzzing as the clothes sloshed around in the sudsy water. Everyone was clad in 'laundry day uniform,' sweatpants and sweatshirts dredged up from the back of the closet. The only benefit the students ever found out of laundry day, other than the fact that it was less expensive than going to a laundromat, was that it happened to be a weekly social event. Everybody turned out for the weekly washing, always on Thursday, and it gave people a chance to talk. 

"How's things going, Sora? Having fun with your fashion classes?" 

            She turned to face the speaker, then broke into a wide grin. Davis was standing behind her in a grubby old shirt that he may have worn back in junior high. 

"I'm doing great, Davis! How about you?"

"Good enough, I guess. Cooking's a lot harder than I thought. Ken's doing great, as usual. He's decided he's going to major in forensics. Science geek through and through."

Sora laughed, leaning against the dryer as it rattled under her hand. One load of laundry out of what seemed to be a billion was almost complete. 

"And you two are living together?"

"Yeah, it's been so awesome! Chibimon and Minomon come for visits on the weekend, the four of us go to frat parties, we're living la vida loca! What about you and…"

He was cut off by the loud buzz of a nearby washer. "Dang, that's me."

"I'll let you go before you end up shrinking something. You guys will have to stop in for dinner sometime. The four of us can go out or whatever."

"Yeah! I'll tell Ken!"

            It somehow made the whole harrowing experience of doing laundry seem less arduous when she had someone to talk to. Matt refused to leave the dorm on laundry day, afraid of being plowed down in the hallway by those anxious to get down to the room as fast as humanly possible. Sora loved living with him, there was never a dull day in their small apartment. Matt had grown more handsome with every passing year, and just as exciting. He was majoring in music, but oddly enough, was working towards a minor in science, specifically astronomy. He was still the same chivalrous gentleman he always was, but had recently developed a more playful, outgoing streak. College had forced him to stop being as reserved and angsty as he formally appeared. Sora had dated him a few times in high school, but they both decided they weren't ready for a huge long-term relationship. When they found out they were rooming together, they took it to be a sign of fate and began seeing each other. 

            Sora leaned over and pulled out the last armload of clothes, dumping it on top of the dryer and folding them, to press them at a later time. It was encroaching on lunchtime, which would be followed by classes. Although, there was the possibility of not going to class that day, which sounded better with every article of clothing that passed from hand to hamper. 

~*~

            She stood outside the dorm room, arm hooked around the hamper, her free hand being used to rap on the door. It hadn't occurred to Sora that she had forgotten her key until after she had already left and put a load of laundry in. So she was locked out until Matt could come and rescue her. 

"Yeah, hang on a sec!" his voice was muffled, despite the fact that the door was so cheap and thin. 

"It's me, I have the laundry."

The door swung open, and Matt was standing in the frame, grinning recklessly. His blonde hair looked as though it had hardly been gelled, and he was wearing back-of-the-bureau clothing as well, a faded pair of blue jeans and a slate blue shirt full of holes and worn patches. 

            Sora slid in past him, setting the basket down on the floor next to their slightly dilapidated couch. The dorm looked fairly neat, no worse than it usually did since it was she who did half of the housekeeping. Matt came up behind her, wrapping strong arms around her waist. 

"You smell like detergent," he murmured. 

She shook her head. "Well, it was laundry day. What am I going to smell like?"

"Dirty laundry?" he offered. She swatted his arm. 

"Matt, you're something else, you know that?"

He grinned again. "Yeah, but you love me for it, don't you?"

            Sora reached upwards, putting a hand on the back of his neck. Matt sighed, hugging her close to his chest. 

"Yes I do, very much."

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek. 

"What was that for?" 

Sora wrinkled her nose. "No reason, other than my undying love for you and because you're the most wonderful person I know and it was a blessing that we're living together," she stated nonchalantly. 

"Oh, if that's all," he replied, just as casually before kissing her in return. 

            Laundry day always brought out the best in the students at Kyoto University. Somehow by washing their clothes, they seemed to wash away any stress or unhappiness they had accumulated, like their unwashed clothing. For Sora and Matt, it was just another day to be in love with each other. 

"I dedicated my homework to you, Sora."

"Oh? You mean 'Sonata for Piano in G Major?' That homework?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm thinking of titling it 'Laud and Admiration for the Sky, Movement Seven."

"Is this the seventh movement you've dedicated to me? We should celebrate that, then."

Matt kissed her again, running his fingers along her sides. "We should."

Yes, laundry day was a wonderful day indeed.

~*~

_::You're a song written by the hands of God::_

_::Don't get me wrong, this may sound to you a bit odd::_

_::But you hold the place where all my thoughts go hiding::_

_::Underneath your clothes is where I'll find them::_

_::Underneath your clothes::_

_::There's an endless story::_

_::There's the man I chose::_

_::There's my territory::_

_::And all the things I deserve::_

_::For being such a good girl, honey::_

_::Because of you, I've forgot the smart way to lie::_

_::Because of you, I'm running out of reasons to cry::_

_::When my friends are gone, when the party's over::_

_::We will still belong to each other::_

_::Underneath your clothes::_

_::There's an endless story::_

_::There's the man I chose::_

_::There's my territory::_

_::And all the things I deserve::_

_::For being such a good girl::_

_::Being such a good girl::_

_::Being such a…::_

~*~

**_So wait, what does laundry have to do with this song?_**

**It's about clothes! Hey, it's the first thing I thought of that wasn't innuendo.**

**_But I like innuendo!_**

**But it's not nice when it's a G-rated fanfic.**

**_Oh, all right, whatever. Just review._**

**Maybe next time we'll actually get underneath your clothes. **

**_Nani?! _**


End file.
